The RLX Ralph Lauren Junior Classic teed off today with two opening rounds of Pool Play. This year’s 64 player field features impressive talent, including 55 past AJGA champions and 24 Rolex Junior All-Americans. The tournament showcases 32 boys and 32 girls, with ten boys and seven girls ranked inside the top 25 of the Rolex AJGA Rankings.
11 juniors, five in the Boys Division and six in the Girls Division, went undefeated through two matches.
- Lucas Gimenez of Jacksonville, Florida
- Mason Howell of Thomasville, Georgia
- Tyler Mawhinney of Fleming Island, Florida
- Arrow Aarav Shah of Melbourne, Australia
- Chase Hughes of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Anna Fang of San Diego, California
- Lily Peng of San Ramon, California
- Clairey Lin of (Canada) Palos Verdes Estates, California
- Alexis Lamadrid of Phoenix, Arizona
- Ava Zhang of Lake Mary, Florida
- Trinity Beth of Calvert City, Kentucky
No. 1 seed, Ronin Banerjee of Irvine, California, was upset in his first match of the day, where No. 32 seed Tyler Long of Evergreen, Colorado, won 1 up. He made a comeback in his second match, defeating No. 17 seed Grayson Baucom of Hickory, North Carolina, 2 up.
Defending champion and No. 2 seed Clara Ding of White Rock, British Columbia, Canada, tied with No. 31 seed Nora Qu of (Hong Kong), Irvine, California, in the first round, earning them each 0.50 points. She came back strong for the second match, winning against No. 18 seed Nicole Tang of Bellevue, Washington, 2&1.
Some of the biggest wins of the day included:
- Gimenez win over Hampton Beebe of West Palm Beach, Florida, at 7&5
- Howell wins both his morning and afternoon matches at 5&4
- Morning win by Mawhinney over Drew Woolworth of Lake Oswego, Oregon, at 7&6
- Morning win by Peng over Ashley Shaw of Litchfield Park, Arizona, at 7&6
- Morning win by Yujie Liu of Beijing, China, over Aubrey Hilgers of Surprise, Arizona, at 5&4
- Fang win over Victoria Cui of Atherton, California, 5&4
- Lin win over Athena Yoo of Alpharetta, Georgia, at 5&4
- Rayee Feng of Short Hills, New Jersey, win over Aubrey Hilgers of Surprise, Arizona, at 7&5
- Beth win over Yingtong Jiao of Beijing, China, at 7&6
Matches to watch Wednesday include:
Boys Division
- In Pool A, all four members are tied with a singular point each. The winners of each match tomorrow will compete in a playoff to win the pool.
- In Pool D, Willie Gordon of Hot Springs, Arkansas, leads by 0.50 points. If Sterling Hurd of Austin, Texas, and Alex Zhang of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, win their respective matches, it would force a playoff in the pool.
Girls Division
- In Pool B, Rina Kawasaki of (Japan) Palos Verdes Estates, California, and Clara Ding lead their pool with 1.50 points each. Their match against each other tomorrow will decide the winner of the pool.
- Anna Fang (Pool A), Lily Peng (Pool C), Clairey Lin (Pool D), Ava Zhang (Pool F), Alexis Lamadrid (Pool G) and Trinity Beth (Pool H) all lead their respective pools with 2.00 points each.
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About Bethpage State Park Golf Courses - Black Course
The move of the RLX Ralph Lauren Junior Classic to Bethpage Black four years ago marked the first time the event was played on a public course. The Black Course is rich in tradition having hosted three major championships, two FedEx Cup playoff events and the upcoming 2025 Ryder Cup.
The course which opened in 1936 as part of the Depression Era public-works project that build Bethpage State Park burst onto the scene in 2002 with its first hosting of the U.S. Open. It was this year that a young Tiger Woods, who won the Polo Golf Junior Classic in 1991, captured his second U.S. Open title. The Black Course again hosted the U.S. Open in 2009 where AJGA alumnus Lucas Glover took home the title. The ‘extremely difficult course’ recommended ‘only for highly skilled golfers’ also hosted the 2012 and 2016 FedEx Cup playoff event, The Barclays. AJGA alumnus Brooks Koepka won the 2019 PGA Championship when the course hosted its first major in ten years.
About Polo Ralph Lauren
Polo Ralph Lauren, a premium lifestyle brand, has been a partner for more than three decades. Since 1995, Polo Ralph Lauren has supported junior golfers who become the next generation of college graduates and business leaders. Every week through AJGA social and digital content, Polo Ralph Lauren celebrates the top performances of AJGA members worldwide, through Polo Ralph Lauren #InspiredPerformances . Polo Ralph Lauren has hosted the RLX Ralph Lauren Junior Classic, an Invitational dating back to 1978 and one of the longest-running events in AJGA history.